In the mail yesterday I received a very timely gift: A copy of the new book “Evangelism Remixed”by Dave Rahn and Terry Linhart. We are heading to junior high summer camp tomorrow and I can’t wait to take it with me! Afew reasons I’m excited about this new book:

1) Of all the things our youth ministry “does” (evangelism, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, worship), I’m probably most passionate about evangelism. And the form of evangelism I’m most passionate about is helping students develop the desire to be salt and light to the people around them. Because of that, the sub-title of the book is what I’m most excited about “….Empowering students for courageous and contagious faith”.

2) I’m also excited because of the timeliness of this book for our youth ministry. Historically, our primary evangelistic tool has been students sharing Christ with their friends. However, in the past year we have slipped dangerously close to abandoning that philosophy in favor of the traditional “program-driven” evangelism. This was due in large part to the fact that we moved into an incredible new youth facility which made it almost irresponsible to not leverage it with some new programs to attract students. But, now that we have been in the building for over a year and the “shine” has worn off, it’s time to get back to our bread and butter and re-create a culture of friendship evangelism (that’s what we call it).

3) I really like the cover! I’m one of those silly consumers who makes initial judgments and purchases based on first impressions. The cover of this book is super clean and fresh looking. I tried to insert it into this post but it was messing up the alignment of the text (I’m not very blog savy) so you will have to open the link above to check it out for yourself. Plus I know that once you are on the Amazon page, you’ll probably just go ahead and buy the book!

So, even though I haven’t read it yet I feel pretty confident I can highly recommend Evangelism Remixed simply because I believe in the premise that the best evangelism is when it’s led by students.

I have the benefit of having somebody on my junior high team who is INCREDIBLE at encouraging our adult volunteer team. Simply put, Katie Edwards is better at loving on leaders than anybody I have ever known. I thought it might be worthwhile to share some of her simple little encouragement ideas with you from time to time. So, in the new “Volunteer Encouragement” category I will share an idea with you that Katie has used to encourage our adult leaders.

SPECIAL DELIVERY

Supplies Needed: Candy bar, padded envelop, note card, postage

Cost: Under $3.00 per person

Everyone loves mail! Find out what your volunteer’s favorite candy bar is, and send it to him or her in the mail. Mail it in an envelope, or stick the address label and stamp right on the candy bar! Attach a little note of encouragement to the back side of the candy bar.

EXAMPLE: “You are doing an awesome job as a small group leader. Take a break today, kick your feet up, and enjoy a treat on us! Have a sweet day!”

• Tip:Take the candy bar to the post office to have it weighted so you get the correct postage. You also might want to purchase a candy bar that won’t easily melt: For example, a Starburst or PayDay (although this could be tough since most people prefer chocolate!). that’s why the padded envelope option is a good one. Not only does it protect the candy bar from breaking, it helps protect it from the heat.

- Our weekend was fantastic. Katie Edwards taught our 5th week of “The Lab” and did a really, really good job. Games were fun, music was great and attendance was fairy high for this time of year.

- We leave on Sunday for summer camp at Thousand Pines. This is our 12th summer there! Summer camp is where we have felt the pinch of the recession for the first really tangible time in our ministry as we barely have enough students signed up to fulfill our camp contract. However, all of our other, much cheaper, events have been jam-packed this summer. I would be interested to hear if your experiences are similar.

- We had a special screening of “To Save A Life” this weekend at church. Great movie.

- I spoke in three adult services at Saddleback on Sunday night. After already logging four junior high services, I went into the night feeling really tired, but it was fantastic. I’m glad I don’t teach to adults on a regular basis, but the change of pace felt kinda nice.

- The topic of the adult message was basically around how to have a meaningful time in God’s word. On the way home I thought of this line: “It’s not how much of the Bible you get through, It’s how much of the Bible gets through to you!” Dang it….that would have preached!

Through various avenues this week, I have been reminded of some really basic junior high ministry principles.

- Remembering student’s names is a bigger deal than I think it is. Forgetting a name I should remember is also a bigger deal than I think it is!

- Typically it takes time to earn the trust of a parent, but it takes almost no time to lose it!

- Trying something new, mixing things up, etc. is almost always a good thing. It’s better to swing and miss than to not swing at all.

- A junior high lesson doesn’t need to be long to be good…but if it’s going to be long, it BETTER be good!

- Junior High students aren’t as critical as I think they are. I am usually the toughest guy in the crowd to please.

Lesson Topic: Week 4 of our Summer Series “The Lab…An Up Close Look At Famous Bible Verses” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Lesson Length: 20:45

Attendance: Above average for Summer. Saturday night attendance was a little low, but Sunday was quite high.

“Fun Factor”: Above average. We had a stupid, but fun, skit to promo Summer camp. Our games were fun and energy seemed high.

Volunteer Involvement: Above Average

Music: We have been utilizing a new worship leader in junior high and he’s a GREAT guy. He’s still figuring out junior high culture and our weekend atmosphere but he’s got an incredible heart.

I don’t know about you, but for some reason I feel quite a bit of pressure to be funny when I’m teaching, leading a game, etc. I’m fairly certain nobody else really cares whether I’m funny or not so the pressure is most likely completely self imposed. But because I believe that when we can get students laughing we open their hearts and minds to more serious issues, humor seems like a very strategicarrow in a junior high pastor’s quiver.

But over the years I’ve seen, and been responsible for, quite a bit of humor that really isn’t funny. In fact, humor can be a really dangerous weapon. I’m sure there are more examples of when something isn’t funny, but here is my short list.

Kurt’s Philosophy of “Not Funny”:

- It’s not funny if the humor is at the expense of an individual student.

- It’s not funny if it’s degrading.

- It’s not funny if it’s for “shock value”.

- It’s not funny if it undermines authority.

- It’s not funny if someone gets hurt.

- It’s not funny if you’ve overkilled it (less is more).

- It’s not funny if nobody’s laughing (although there are times when I think I’m hilarious but apparently nobody else does…).

I would love to add to the list. What would your list include?

- I’m reading “The Unlikely Disciple; A Sinner’s Semester At America’s Holiest University” by Kevin Roose. It is a fantastic book written by a young college student whogoes “under cover” at Liberty University for one semester.

- Heard about this fun website in latest issue of GROUP magazine.

- If you like sweet tea (which I’m trying to drink less of!) you will love this stuff.

- Want a cheap, super fun addition to your junior high meeting room? Check this out. We have one and play constantly.

- Have you pre-ordered your copy of “Middle School Ministry”by Scott Rubin and Mark Ostreicher?

- Looking for some cheap and easy youth ministry ideas? I just wrote the foreward to this great new book by Todd Outcalt.

What is the most overused word in junior high ministry. That’s a statement, not a question. My hunch is that trying to figure out what your ministry is going to do is a topic that takes up a great deal of your time.

- “What topics do we want to teach at midweek?”

-”What are we going to do for summer activities?”

-”What should we do about the rowdy kids that show up?”

-”What games should we play this Friday night?”

-”What are we going to tell the elders when they notice the damage?”

What is certainly an important word, but I think why is even more important.Instead ofasking “Whatshould our ministry do”, Isuggest the first question to ask is,“Why does our ministry exist?” When you can define why your ministry exists, then many of the ‘whats’ will begin to answer themselves. At the very least, the ‘why’ will guide your answers to the ‘what’.

If you’ve never drafted a mission statement or purpose statement, I would highly encourage you to do so. A purpose statement is your chance to draft why your ministry exists which will help guide what you do and what you don’t do.

I’ve never read the book, so I have no idea what advice it gives but the other day I was thinking about some of my friends who have had the greatest influence on me in recent years and why that is. I thought it might be fun to pass along some of things about them that are (at least I hope) beginning to rub off on me.

The AbilityTo AskGood Follow-Up Questions. I have a couple of friends who are great at digging a little deeper, asking a question that brings the real issue to the surface etc. The ability to ask good follow up questions makes conversation rich and makes people feel valued and important.

The Ability To “Stop Time”. I have a friend who is extremely busy and everybody knows it. Yet when he stops to talk to you, even in a spontaneous hallway encounter, it’s as if time stops and you become the sole focus of his attention. There aren’t many things that make me feel better than when somebody who is obviously super busy canhit the pause button and make it seem as if they have nothing better to do than talk to me.

The Ability To Prop Up. One of my lifelong friends is the master of encouragement. I honestly can’t remember ever spending time with him, whether it was 5 minutes or 5 hours, without walking away at the end of our time together feeling better about myself.

The Ability To Inspire. I love being around inspiring people. I have a buddy who is constantly dreaming of a new idea, a better way, a bigger opportunity etc.

If you have never done so, I’d encourage you to think about some of your friends and other people who have had great impact on you. What is it about them that you appreciate? Whatdo you see in them that you need to let rub off on you and your relationships with others.

- I feel like our youth ministry is finally feeling the pinch of the economic downturn. Registrations for any Summer event costing more than about $50 seem to be very low while attendance at our “cheap and easy” events has been huge. This is mostly a good thing because it has reinforced my love for low-key, highly relational activities but it’s a very, very bad thing for our Summer Camp budget!

- I rarely read fiction, but when I do I prefer John Grisham. I read his newest, The Associate, in two nights. Good stuff!

- If you work with High School students, you may want to check out Live Curriculum, Simply’s new four-year small group bible study. While I found the website to be a little bit overwhelming (mostly because I’m old and not very “techy”) I think this new resource is a brilliant way to provide your high school students a well balanced, four-year, small group bible study experience.

- Interested in joining our Junior High team at Saddleback? We are looking for college graduates who want to be part of our two-year internship program. Click here for more information.